I will also add that physical possession of a medal is not a prerequisite for prosecution under the Stolen Valor Act. If you make a fraudulent verbal or written claim that is provably false, you are in violation of the Act.

If you closely read the language of the Act, it states that any false claim to unearned badges is a violation. For our purposes, falsely claiming to be Special Forces or Ranger qualified is a violation, as both are recognized with a "badge," or Tab. Likewise claiming to be a Navy SEAL. SEALs are awarded the Budweiser.

Abe Kyle barely heard what the FBI agent was telling him on the phone last week, other than, “We need to talk with you about your son. … We’ll be over shortly.”

His hands were shaking as he called Kearney High School. He needed to speak to his son — now!

At Adam Kyle’s “Hello?” the father unloaded: “Why is the FBI investigating you?”

Adam, 18, had no idea what his dad was talking about. He was confused. Scared. The FBI? He told a couple of friends, and soon most of the school knew.

The FBI agent arrived at Abe Kyle’s home an hour later. He showed the father of seven a photo of his second- oldest, then 13, standing beside a man. Adam was holding a Silver Star, and the man had a Purple Heart.

The FBI agent wanted to verify that it was Adam in the picture. Then he handed Abe Kyle a two-page report that Adam had written about the man five years ago: “The Hero Next Door.”

Pretty good writing for a 13-year-old, the agent said with a grin.

Abe Kyle, a 43-year-old Army veteran, read for the first time his son’s words about a man named Timothy J. Watkins.

How Watkins had received the Silver Star, the military’s third-highest medal, and a Purple Heart for his service in the U.S. invasion of Grenada.

How he was an Army Ranger who fell off a cliff after getting hit by enemy fire.

Unfortunately, the agent said, we believe Watkins’ story isn’t true.

Watkins, 47, who lives in Kansas City, North, is charged under a 2006 federal law called the Stolen Valor Act. The law makes it a crime, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $100,000, to falsely claim you have received a medal from the U.S. military.

It’s a crime even if there’s no effort to profit from the stolen glory.

Watkins could not be reached for comment, but his defense attorney, John Patrick O’Connor, said there were “mitigating circumstances for a judge to consider.”

Watkins pleaded not guilty Thursday and has a March court date, O’Connor said.

Prosecutors allege that Watkins bought the two medals at a pawnshop. He was in the Army, court records indicate, but he served only one month before receiving a medical discharge in August 1983 — months before the U.S. invaded Grenada.

“Man, I should have titled it ‘The Liar Next Door,’ ” Adam said Thursday. “This is all really weird.”

Kyle and his father know all about the Purple Heart — and the Bronze Star. Abe Kyle received both medals while serving in Afghanistan with a field artillery unit from the Kansas National Guard. He also did a tour in Iraq. And he has the paperwork to prove it.

In 2006, he was in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, riding in a Humvee when it was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade. Shrapnel exploded through the vehicle and nearly took off one of his legs.

The father of seven shifts his cane to one side and lifts his right pants leg to show the mottled scars.

“I spent months at Walter Reed (Medical Center in Washington),” he said. “Adam came to visit me a few times.”

He will have more surgery in a few weeks and still might need to have the leg amputated.

While he was serving in Iraq in 2004-2005, his son joined the Big Brothers program. When Adam needed to write an extra-credit report about a hero next door, his Big Brother mentor introduced him to Watkins.

Neither the FBI nor federal prosecutors will talk about what led them to investigate Watkins or how they came across Adam Kyle’s report. But with more Iraq and Afghanistan veterans coming home, there’s been a push by veterans groups to expose fakers.

Still, only about 60 people have been charged with violating the Stolen Valor Act, said Doug Sterner, a Virginia researcher who worked to get the law passed. He founded the Home of Heroes Web site, at www.homeofheroes.com, to verify who received the military’s highest honors — and who didn’t. He now oversees the site for the Military Times.

Sterner, a Vietnam veteran with two Bronze Stars, started the site in 2000 as a way for families to remember their loved ones and to read stories of heroes.

“Right now, it’s so hard to check out somebody’s story. We know there are thousands of people lying about their service,” he said. “For every one case (we find), there are 20 to 25 more who never get charged.”

Abe Kyle said he was steaming mad at Watkins when he heard the FBI’s allegations on Monday. By the end of the week, he’d cooled off, but he had another question: Who would have sold their medals in the first place, “especially a Silver Star?”

That’s something he couldn’t even fathom, he said.

“Adam told me before I left for Iraq and Afghanistan that he didn’t care how many medals I got. He just didn’t want me to get the Medal of Honor.

“Guys who get those usually come home in a box.”

People who falsely portray themselves as war heroes should be prosecuted to discourage others, he said.

“Those of us who go over there and deploy, we put up with a lot. And I would like him to apologize to my son over this,” he said.

Adam Kyle was a little more brash: “If I saw him now, I’d probably punch him.

“My dad is the real hero.”

He is working on another report now, on extraterrestrials.

And if he ever interviews one, his dad told him, “make sure you check his credentials.”

I read the posts and know you guys don't waste your time busting every poser. This guy was so damn irritating. I got a taste of what it takes (albeit a small taste) for you guys to become who you are. I just pisses me off when some dork dishonors that which you worked so very hard to obtain.

Now I'll get off my soap box and give you the info. This guy, Clay S. Hale of Albuquerque came into my office claiming toe be a 21 Delta medic, from (looks side to side), Delta Force. He stated that he had just got back from Afganistan for the 8 th time and was going back in 3 weeks to put in more firebases on the Pakistan border. WTF? I wished I owned the office I work at so I could make him leave. If by the off chance this guy is for real, I will foot race him to the top of Sandia Peak and let him kick my ass when he arrives at the top.

Here's an interesting twist: what do you do for someone claiming service in a Guard Unit such as 19th Group? Would that request go to NARA/NPRC or to where?

Thanks Gentlemen.

Not certain, but I suspect that you can figure it out by doing a bit of research on the web. You may need to request a discharge certificate from the state. Someone who has spent time in the Guard can jump in here.

If the person has been discharged from the Guard, they should have a DD-214 on file at NPRC. There are plenty of serving 19th and 20th SFG guys on SOCNET. If someone is claiming current service with NGSF, bounce the question off of them.

If the person has been discharged from the Guard, they should have a DD-214 on file at NPRC. There are plenty of serving 19th and 20th SFG guys on SOCNET. If someone is claiming current service with NGSF, bounce the question off of them.

I do not believe so. There is a thread somewhere around here pertaining to this. Guard guys get a NGB-22.

Outa my lane a bit. However, let me vett pownet. I have worked with pownet for many years and pownet is the premier go-to function for identifying military service. I saw pownet's Intro yesterday and placed a query to them to insure it came from the owners of the POW Net.

Follow pownet's guidelines and you will end up with a satisfactory result.

Can anyone verify a Green Beret for me? I have a full name, relative DOB, and possible command served in. Please private message me if you can help.

How about you follow the rules and post an intro as all have to do. Maybe after you follow our rules you might get some feedback. You wish to be an officer so learn to follow the rules they are for everyone.

...Blue and yellow makes the green color. The hue of green color is halfway between blue and yellow colors. Green symbolizes nature and the natural world.

McCombs - Green is also the dominant color in the solar visible spectrum. Our sun produces more green light than any other color.

The beret appears to be green because its pigments absorb all other colors. Green wavelengths are reflected, and so the beret appears green to our eyes.

In red light, the beret would have no green wavelengths to reflect, and therefore it would appear to be black.

__________________“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.” ~Patrick Henry

Are we sure the headgear in question is even a beret? From what period in history is the beret modeled? Is it a beret, per se, or a variation -- such as a bonnet? Is it a knitted beret, such as what the Rastafarians use?

The original question is far too vague....

__________________Losing faith in humanity, one assclown at a time....

Can anyone verify a Green Beret for me? I have a full name, relative DOB, and possible command served in. Please private message me if you can help.

OK, everybody stand back...I got this one. Statistically speaking, I have had 98.735% accuracy in determining if the color of a beret is Green. The only failure I had was in red light conditions, where I improperly identified the color as Black. Now, I am kinda lacking in accuracy determining the difference between Forest Green and Rifle Green...but I can get him in the ballpark.